Santa Barbara Education Foundation

📣 Mark your calendars! SBEF's Educator Grants open September 14, 2026! 🍎 Each year, these grants help Santa Barbara Unified educators bring innovative ideas to life, funding classroom resources, hands-on learning experiences, and projects that inspire students.

Stay tuned for application details!

One of the things that makes SBEF's Summer Music Camps so special is the people behind them.

Each summer, Santa Barbara Unified music educators dedicate their time to helping students continue learning beyond the school year by creating opportunities for young musicians to grow in skill and confidence.

Read our recap of the 2026 Summer Music Camp season: sbefoundation.org/summer-music-camps-hit-a-high-note-in-2026

Summer Music Camps Hit a High Note in 2026 - Santa Barbara Education Foundation The Santa Barbara Education Foundation's Summer Music Camps wrapped up another memorable season, bringing together young musicians from across Santa Barbara

This past school year, Santa Barbara Unified introduced a new reading assessment tool to help us track exactly how our students are growing as readers. Now that the school year has wrapped up, the data is in, and our 1st Graders made incredible progress!

By looking at where students started at the beginning of the year compared to where they finished, here is the amazing growth we saw:

On Track for Success: The number of 1st Graders reading right where they need to be (or even further ahead!) jumped from 38% to 64%. That is a massive 26-percentage-point increase!

Leaping Ahead: Students scoring above their reading goals nearly doubled, rising from 19% to 36%.

Closing the Gap: The percentage of students who needed the most intensive reading support dropped significantly, from 40% down to 24%.

What does this mean? It means our new tools and teaching strategies are working, and more of our students are heading into 2nd grade with the strong reading foundation they deserve.

Growth like this takes a village. Thank you to our hardworking teachers, our dedicated staff, and especially to YOU, our families, for reading at home and supporting our learners every step of the way. Way to go, SB Unified!

Supporting Every Student. Empowering Every Educator. ✨

Applications for SBEF's Educator Grants will open this fall, providing funding for innovative and hands-on learning experiences for Santa Barbara Unified educators and librarian techs.

And in spring 2027, we'll once again open applications for Student Grants, empowering high school students to turn their ideas into action.

We're excited to see what our educators and students dream up next!

🎶 Another amazing summer at Nick Rail Summer Band Camp! 🎺

Students from across Santa Barbara came together to build their musical skills, collaborate with fellow musicians, and experience the joy of making music together.

Thank you to our campers, families, instructors, and director Stephen Hughes for making this year's camp such a success. We can't wait to see these young musicians continue to shine! ✨

Photos by Paul Mori.

🥁 From learning new rhythms and techniques to performances and new friendships, our drumline campers spent two incredible weeks immersed in music and creativity.

We're so proud of these young musicians and grateful to everyone who helped make this experience possible. 🎶